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Can home-run celebrations be considered art?

The Miami Herald reports on a surprising use of public funds for the Marlin’s new baseball stadium.

Lost in the debate over the hundreds of millions in public subsidies for the Marlins’ stadium is the $7.7 million in tax dollars set aside for public art.

About $2.5 million of that is earmarked for a “home-run entertainment feature.” So how does a home-run celebration get classified as “art?”

Miami-Dade’s public call for proposals reads: “The home run entertainment feature should conceptually celebrate the Miami Marlins, the ocean, light, movement and the spirit of baseball.”

Although a drop in the bucket in relation to the overall $515 million stadium cost, the unconventional use of arts money has raised some highbrow eyebrows and triggered a philosophical debate over the definition of art.

Rabid baseball fans might think that home runs can “move the soul,” but Becky Matkov, a member of the Art in Public Places Trust, thinks it’s a stretch to call an exploding scoreboard, or whatever is ultimately approved, artistic. “I find it an inappropriate use of public funds,” she says.